Climate Porn

A September 15, 2006 Reuters News article claimed that polar bears in the Arctic are threatened with extinction by global warming. The article by correspondent Alister Doyle, quoted a visitor to the Arctic who claims he saw two distressed polar bears. According to the Reuters article, the man noted that “one of [the polar bears] looked to be dead and the other one looked to be exhausted.” The article did not state the bears were actually dead or exhausted, rather that they “looked” that way.

Have we really arrived at the point where major news outlets in the U.S. are reduced to analyzingwhether or not polar bears in the Arctic appear restful? How does reporting like this get approved for publication by the editors at Reuters? What happened to covering the hard science of this issue?

What was missing from this Reuters news article was the fact that according to biologists who study the animals, polar bears are doing quite well. Biologist Dr. Mitchell Taylor from the Arctic government of Nunavut, a territory of Canada, refuted these claims in May when he noted that “Of the 13 populations of polar bears in Canada, 11 are stable or increasing in number. They are not going extinct, or even appear to be affected at present.”

Sadly, it appears that reporting anecdotes and hearsay as fact, has now replaced the basic tenets of journalism for many media outlets.

ALARMISM HAS LED TO SKEPTICISM

It is an inconvenient truth that so far, 2006 has been a year in which major segments of the media have given up on any quest for journalistic balance, fairness and objectivity when it comes to climate change. The global warming alarmists and their friends in the media have attempted to smear scientists who dare question the premise of man-made catastrophic global warming, and as a result some scientists have seen their reputations and research funding dry up.

The media has so relentlessly promoted global warming fears that a British group called the Institute for Public Policy Research – and this from a left leaning group – issued a report in 2006 accusing media outlets of engaging in what they termed “climate porn” in order to attract the public’s attention.

Bob Carter, a Paleoclimate geologist from James Cook University in Australia has described how the media promotes climate fear:

“Each such alarmist article is larded with words such as ‘if’, ‘might’, ‘could’, ‘probably’, ‘perhaps’, ‘expected’, ‘projected’ or ‘modeled’ - and many involve such deep dreaming, or ignorance of scientific facts and principles, that they are akin to nonsense,” professor Carter concluded in an op-ed in April of this year.

Another example of this relentless hype is the reporting on the seemingly endless number of global warming impact studies which do not even address whether global warming is going to happen. They merely project the impact of potential temperature increases.

The media endlessly hypes studies that purportedly show that global warming could increase mosquito populations, malaria, West Nile Virus, heat waves and hurricanes, threaten the oceans, damage coral reefs, boost poison ivy growth, damage vineyards, and global food crops, to name just a few of the global warming linked calamities. Oddly, according to the media reports, warmer temperatures almost never seem to have any positive effects on plant or animal life or food production.

Fortunately, the media’s addiction to so-called ‘climate porn’ has failed to seduce many Americans.

According to a July Pew Research Center Poll, the American public is split about evenly between those who say global warming is due to human activity versus those who believe it’s from natural factors or not happening at all.

In addition, an August Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll found that most Americans do not attribute the cause of recent severe weather events to global warming, and the portion of Americans who believe global warming is naturally occurring is on the rise.

Yes -- it appears that alarmism has led to skepticism.

The American people know when their intelligence is being insulted. They know when they are being used and when they are being duped by the hysterical left.

The American people deserve better -- much better -- from our fourth estate. We have a right to expect accuracy and objectivity on climate change coverage. We have a right to expect balance in sourcing and fair analysis from reporters who cover the issue.

Above all, the media must roll back this mantra that there is scientific “consensus” of impending climatic doom as an excuse to ignore recent science. After all, there was a so-called scientific “consensus” that there were nine planets in our solar system until Pluto was recently demoted.

Breaking the cycles of media hysteria will not be easy since hysteria sells -- it’s very profitable. But I want to challenge the news media to reverse course and report on the objective science of climate change, to stop ignoring legitimate voices this scientific debate and to stop acting as a vehicle for unsubstantiated hype.

SOURCE - by Senator InHofe.

UPDATE: The link (or "Source") to Inhofe's site 66-page guide has been removed. I could probably guess why. But go here to a Google cache link and you can still read his report.

Global Warming Screamers

You know the type. These "global warming screamers" who go about their constant gloom and doom scenario that earth is warming up alarmingly that it'll melt the poles' ice caps and Greenland causing world wide havoc with rising sea waters and what not, caused by human beings. Even a few deaf people joined to be among the screamers. And Gallaudet, too. And how ironic it was over 30 years ago the press were screaming about global cooling!

Heck, I think in the next 30 years we ought to be more worried about nuclear war than this global warming idiocy.

Senator James M. Inhofe is one of those skeptics who don't believe in this global warming and he recently produced a 66-page guide called "A Skeptic’s Guide to Debunking Global Warming Alarmism. Hot & Cold Media Spin Cycle: A Challenge to Journalists who Cover Global Warming."

Read it!

UPDATE: In short, we should consider the sun as the main culprit over long term trend on climate change. Read a recent article on how the number of sun spots the have influenced temperature changes on earth:


The team started by using sunspot records to calibrate models of how carbon-14 in tree rings correlate withsolar activity. The models "reproduce the observed record of sunspots extremely well, from almost no sunspots during the seventeenth century to the current high levels", writes Paula Reimer, a paleoclimate expert at Queen's University, Belfast, UK, in an article accompanying the research paper in Nature.

They then extrapolated the tree ring data backwards in time and discovered that no period in the last 8000 years has been as active as the last 70. About 75 sunspots have appeared every year in this period, compared to an annual average of about 30 over the last 11,400 years.

"We are living in extraordinary times as far as solar activity is concerned," says study co-author Manfred Schussler. "Extended periods of high activity seem to be much more rare than we previously thought."

Indeed, the data also showed that high activity periods only occurred for about 10% of the period studied, and tended to last for about three decades. "That's one of the interesting things - this latest cycle has already lasted longer than most do," says Reimer.


UPDATE II: The link to Inhofe's site 66-page guide has been removed from the Environment and Public Work website after only a few days. I could probably guess why since IT IS a senate.gov site. But go here to a Google cache link (or here for the actual Google reference) and you can still read his report. Pass it around.

UPDATE III: Looks like the despot U.N. is trying to be the less of a global warming screamer now by reducing and revising their estimates on global warming impact. Nice little chuckle there for a good read on U.N.'s idiocy. I wonder if Kofi objected to the change. Oops! Too late, he's gone.

UPDATE IV: It's baaackkkk! The link to the 66-page guide on debunking Global Warming. Hat tip: Curious Eyes.

Bill Richardson - Anti-border? Pro-illegal?

Well, I'm sure you heard the news that Gov. Richardson is running for U.S. president in 2008. Or maybe not with the continued Fox news bashing. But perhaps it was Bill's own mistake when he mis-spoke?

If Gov. Bill Richardson made a mistake in his interview with Fox News on Thursday, it was a brilliant one.

For a day at least, the governor was the Democrat who had people wondering if he really will run for president. And the interview - the one that his campaign staff says was "taken out of context" - came the same day he was already parading across the national stage.

By 4 p.m., when Fox's "breaking news" ticker scrolled across its Web site saying Richardson had said he was running for president, the Governor's Office in Santa Fe was in a tizzy, with phones ringing like a hurricane command center.

Taken out of context? Maybe. Or did he simply misspeak? Could be.

Regardless, Richardson created such a buzz that the real question soon will be not whether he's running but why is he bothering to continue the charade.

But Richardson still called on Congress not to build the 700 miles of fence on the U.S. Mexico border. Well, he does want to build a fence...to protect livestock in his state of emergency Executive Order last year.

====================================
State of New Mexico Office of the
Governor Bill Richardson
News Release

Governor Makes $1.75 million available to assist state and local law enforcement in border communities For Immediate Release Contact: Pahl Shipley August 12, 2005 (505) 476-2202

COLUMBUS, NM- Governor Bill Richardson today issued an Executive Order declaring a state of emergency along the New Mexico-Mexico border, specifically in Doña Ana, Luna, Grant, and Hidalgo counties. The Governor made the announcement following a helicopter and ground tour of the border near Columbus, New Mexico.

“As Governor I have a responsibility to protect our citizens, property, and communities,” said Governor Richardson. “Recent developments have convinced me this action is necessary- including violence directed at law enforcement, damage to property and livestock, increased evidence of drug smuggling, and an increase in the number of undocumented immigrants.”

Governor Richardson’s declaration makes $750,000 in state emergency funding immediately available to the affected counties. The Governor pledged an additional $1 million in assistance for the area. The funds will be used to support state and local law enforcement efforts, create and fund a field office for the New Mexico Office of Homeland Security to coordinate assistance to the area, and help build a fence to protect a livestock yard near Columbus, along a favorite path for illegal immigration where a number of livestock have been stolen and killed.

The Governor also called on Mexico to bulldoze the abandoned town of Las Chepas, which is directly over the border from Columbus. Las Chepas is a notorious staging and resting area for those who smuggle drugs and immigrants into the United States.

“I’m taking these serious steps because of the urgency of the situation and, unfortunately, because of the total inaction and lack of resources from the federal government and Congress,” added the Governor. “We will continue to work with the federal government in an attempt to get their assistance, but something had to be done immediately. I want the people of Doña Ana, Luna, Hidalgo, and Grant counties to know my administration is doing everything it can to protect them.”

The Governor also directed the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to work with the New Mexico Livestock Board to assess the security and safety of livestock in this border region. Governor Richardson also received support today from the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

The Chihuahua Secretary of Industrial Development, Alejandro Cano, says Chihuahua will fully support the Governor in dealing with the situation along the border.


EXECUTIVE ORDER 2005-040 DECLARING A DISASTER IN HIDALGO, LUNA, DONA ANA, AND GRANT COUNTIES DUE TO BORDER SECURITY CONCERNS

WHEREAS, the Southern border of New Mexico has been devastated by the ravages and terror of human smuggling, drug smuggling, kidnapping, murder, destruction of property and the death of livestock;

WHEREAS, the border separating the State of New Mexico and the Country of Mexico is in an extreme state of disrepair and is inadequately funded or safeguarded to protect the lives and property of New Mexican citizens;

WHEREAS, State and local law enforcement officials have utilized all available resources to combat border security concerns, but these efforts have not alleviated this emergency or prevented the loss of life or destruction of property;
WHEREAS, this situation constitutes an emergency condition with potentially catastrophic consequences.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Bill Richardson, Governor of the State of New Mexico, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Laws of the State of New Mexico do hereby declare an emergency condition exists in the counties of Hidalgo, Luna, Dona Ana, and Grant due to a lack of security on New Mexico's Southern border with the Country of Mexico.

I FURTHER DIRECT the Department of Finance and Administration to provide emergency financial resources in the amount of $750,000 to the Department of Public Safety, under the direction of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and the Governor's authorized representative. The Department of Public Safety is directed to coordinate all requests for assistance and responses to such requests under the authority of and as determined by the Governor or his Authorized Representative pursuant to and in accordance with Sections 6-7-1 through 6-7-3 NMSA 1978.

I FURTHER DIRECT all Cabinet Departments and agencies of the State of New Mexico to provide any assistance that may be requested by the Department of Public Safety or the Governor's Office of Homeland Security subject to approval by the Governor’s Authorized Representative.

===================

Maybe we should be thankful that Bill is serious about building a better fence to protect livestock on U.S. soil? I'm sure Islamofascists will like hearing this one.

All Deaf Dogs Go to Heaven

Check out the cartoon and the story I covered recently on this subject. You'll have to read the story and links about Deaf Dog going to the dogs to understand the cartoon's joke.





Hat tip: Anonymous. Thanks! Go here for the source.

Anybody want to buy the coffee shop and the franchise name?

Trapped Deaf Dog Dead? Deaf Dog and Stafbucks?

A deaf dog trapped for two weeks on a cliff ledge near a golf course. After two weeks of being fed with food scrap, no more barking was heard.

So much for international news.

In other news, locally this time, is Deaf Dog, a local favorite coffee house that closed their doors catching many patrons off guard.

Deaf Dog customers were stunned to find their favorite coffee shop on Petaluma Boulevard North closed on Monday morning. After 12 years, owner Ron Salisbury has gone out of business and closed all Deaf Dog stores.

Gone to the dogs, I guess (and here).

Though one commenter said:

Deaf Dog seemed to exist just to hate Starbucks, and hating something — even Starbucks — is bad karma.

Here is what Deaf Dog website looked like before.

And if you like Starbucks, and want to meet other Deaf/deaf/hh people at Starbucks or other coffee locations visit Deaf Chat Coffee to find your nearest location where you can sit down, sip your favorite coffee or mocha and talk about, well, deaf dogs.

Students Against Free Speech

I guess it must take an extremist to try and prevent a speaker from speaking at a college?

Violence erupted at a Michigan law school Thursday when protestors tried to block a speech by Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo.

Why? Was it because Tancredo against those who enter the United States illegally?

Michigan State University College Republicans and Young Americans for Freedom sponsored the event.

Tancredo went to Michigan State University College of Law as part of a visit to the state to talk about immigration. He leads the group that opposes legal status for illegal immigrants.

Protestors interrupted the speech with loud shouting.

Very mature of them.

"They declared ahead of time on Facebook that they would not allow me to speak," Tancredo said in the e-mail.

I think they deserve an "F" for being idiots they are.

UbiDuo Gets Closer to Reality

The UbiDuo ("Ubi" is pronounced "YOO-BEE") communication device is getting closer to reality for businesses to get their hands on. The UbiDuo is seen as an important communication device for the Olathe police department and several city departments are currently testing the device.

"The idea behind it is that a deaf person can communicate any time, anywhere with these," said Lori Colwell, language program coordinator for Olathe. "It's a lot more convenient than paper and pen; it's a lot faster than paper and pen."

It also could be a partial remedy for a town that's short on sign language interpreters.

So far, some users have reported mostly positive results with the devices.
For Hyten, it was a welcome departure from the old message-scribbling routine.
"It did seem to significantly increase the ease of communication," Hyten said. "And it seemed to alleviate the frustration of communication on both sides."

The Olathe Police Department has been using the computers on a trial basis as well. Police Chief Janet Thiessen said that while it probably wouldn't be the best use in situations like longer interviews and interrogations, it has a practical side in more common traffic stops and other short-term situations in which an officer will have limited interaction with a deaf person.

Like any other city department, contacts with the deaf community aren't rare for police officers.

"For us, the contacts are very frequent, and it could go anywhere from a call to someone's home to traffic stops," Thiessen said. In other places in the city, it's being used where deaf employees work so they can interact better with co-workers.

The city will test it until Dec. 20, after which the city will decide whether to purchase dozens of the computers on a permanent basis.

"People that have tested with it have absolutely loved it," Colwell said. "When they get one of these UbiDuos, suddenly they're not as isolated as they were before because the communication barrier...is not as large as it was before."

With a growing but large deaf/Deaf population in the Olathe area near Kansas City, Missouri, the UbiDuo is a proven marketing concept where it helps provide greater communication access to those who need it.

The UbiDuo will be tested in the Olathe Public Library's main branch as well as the following City departments: Office of Human Relations, the City Clerk's Office, the Olathe Police Department and departments that deaf employees work in for the City.

Once the test period ends, the City will decide whether or not to continue the service based on information received from participating departments and the deaf or hard of hearing community.

"We have sign language interpreters on staff at the City of Olathe, but it is impossible for them to be all places at all times. The UbiDuo gives us another option to ensure that our deaf and hearing populations will be able to freely, effectively, and efficiently communicate with each other, said Language Program Coordinator Lori Colwell.

The City's sign language interpreters are available to work at City-operated events, at no charge, when requested by the public. However it is becoming increasingly harder to fill interpreter requests with growing demand for these services from the public and City staff.

Imagine what a communication device can do in cities, towns and businesses all across the United States.

It's coming.


Read the rest of the Kokonut Pundits blog stories on the UbiDuo communication device and the company, sComm, Inc.

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X-Men Illustrator Dies in Superman Jammies

Holy Batman! A Superman Lover dies in his super jammies. I don't know what to think about this passing but read on.

Wearing Superman pajamas and covered with his Batman blanket, comic book illustrator Dave Cockrum died Sunday.

The 63-year-old overhauled the X-Men comic and helped popularize the relatively obscure Marvel Comics in the 1970s. He helped turn the title into a publishing sensation and major film franchise.

Cockrum died in his favorite chair at his home in Belton, South Carolina, after a long battle with diabetes and related complications, his wife Paty Cockrum said Tuesday.

...At Marvel Comics, Cockrum and writer Len Wein were handed the X-Men. The comic had been created in 1963 as a group of young outcasts enrolled in an academy for mutants. The premise had failed to capture fans.

Cockrum and Wein added their own heroes to the comic and published "Giant-Size X-Men No. 1" in 1975. Many signature characters Cockrum designed and co-created -- such as Storm, Mystique, Nightcrawler and Colossus -- went on to become part of the "X-Men" films starring Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry.

Cockrum received no movie royalties, said family friend Clifford Meth, who organized efforts to help Cockrum and his family during his protracted medical care.

"Dave saw the movie and he cried -- not because he was bitter," Meth said. "He cried because his characters were on screen and they were living."

"He had a genuine love for comics and for science fiction and for fantasy, and he lived in it," Meth said. "He loved his work."

Obviously. Perhaps a little too much?

The Jihad of Hate and Disrespect

Today, Democrat Fred Phelps and his ilk showed up at the Huntsville, Alabama funeral for the express purpose to spread hate, terror and disrespect against families and friends of the 4 bus riders that were killed in a horrific bus crash earlier this week.

Yesterday, the father of one of the bus rider killed, Nicole Ford, asked Patriot Guard Riders for help. The non-profit group responded quickly this morning with a press release saying they’ll have volunteers show up at the funeral today at noon.

IN A PRESS RELEASE WEDNESDAY MEMBERS OF THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH OF TOPEKA, KANSAS ANNOUNCED PLANS TO PICKET THE FUNERALS OF THE FOUR TEENS KILLED IN MONDAY’S ACCIDENT. IN THE RELEASE THE GROUP, LED BY FRED PHELPS, CLAIMS GOD HATES ALABAMA AND AMERICA. THE GROUP, BELIEVES HOMOSEXUALITY IS THE SOURCE OF THE WORLD’S PROBLEMS, HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED AS AN OFFICIAL HATE GROUP BY THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.

WEDNESDAY THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH WAS GRANTED A PERMIT TO DEMONSTRATE 2 BLOCK SOUTH OF FRIDAY’S FUNERAL FOR NICOLE FORD AT HUNTSVILLE’S TRUE LIGHT CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST. HUNTSVILLE CITY OFFICIALS SAID WEDNESDAY THEY HOPED THE TWO BLOCKS WOULD SERVE AS A BUFFER BETWEEN MOURNERS AND PROTESTORS. . . .

PATRIOT GUARD REGIONAL CAPTAIN, JIM LORENZO, SAYS HIS VOLUNTEERS WILL USE AROUND FIFTY LARGE AMERICAN FLAGS TO BLOCK ANY PROTESTORS FROM VIEW AND, IF NECESSARY, WILL SING “GOD BLESS AMERICA” TO DROWN OUT VULGARITIES COMMONLY SHOUTED AT MOURNERS BY THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH.

PATRIOT GUARD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BILL LINES SAYS HIS GROUP HAS SUCCESSFULLY BLOCKED A NUMBER OF PROTESTS BY THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH AND IS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THEIR TACTICS. LINES, WHO PLANS TO BE IN HUNTSVILLE FOR THE FUNERALS, SAYS THE BEST THING TO DO WHEN CONFRONTED BY THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH IS TO SIMPLY “TURN YOUR BACK ON THEM, THEY HATE THAT.”

That’s a good counter-demonstration. Just simply turn your backs on them and ignore their presence along with displays of our American flags.

Fred Phelps and his minions’ main tactic is to show up at slain U.S. soldiers’ funerals with the purpose to disrupt and compound the grieving process of families and friends. This time it’s different. Fred Phelps and his lowlife did their protest at a funeral whose victims are not even soldiers! One Kansas University student made a documentary about Fred Phelps and you can a see a short clip of Fred in action here.

Now, a good person I know who is deaf and is the forum owner of Deafreedom.com informed readers that he was going to go and help with the protest against the Phelps KKKlan by bringing a sign that says:

"God Loves Everyone: even morons like Fred Phelps"

He hopes to meet Fred and have a few choice words with him.

Protesters who show up at funerals just to harrass and make life more difficult for grieving families and friends ought to be made illegal. But that's changing. More states nowadays are enacting or considering laws against funeral protesters who sole aim is to disrupt funerals out of disrespect.

At least 14 states are considering laws aimed at the funeral protesters, who at a recent memorial service at Fort Campbell wrapped themselves in upside-down American flags. They danced and sang impromptu songs peppered with vulgarities that condemned homosexuals and soldiers.

People who show disrespect toward slain U.S. soldiers and their families whether it’s interrupting funerals or make jokes or poke fun at dead U.S. soldiers ought to have their heads examined. These people deserve to be locked up in jail cells since they all belong under the same Jihadist class as Fred Phelps as “Disrespectful Haters”.

You probably know one already and not realize it. They could be the ones worse than Fred Phelps!



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Happy Thanksgiving and Indian Sign Language

Happy Thanksgiving readers!

And while I'm on the topic of Thanksgiving that involved pilgrims and Indians, I came across a neat website on Indian Sign Language. ISL is the first and *TRUE* sign language on America's soils. These Indians used ISL not because they are deaf but hearing to communicate over vast distances visible of each other.

Here's the Manataka Indian website for their signs.

Here's a link on the Southeastern Indian sign languages.

Here's a story on the Plains Indian sign language from 1930 during an Indian conference explaining why ISL was used.

The ancient use of gestures as a medium of expression most likely arose out of the need for communication over vast distances such as that afforded by the expansive environment of the Great Plains region.

Go here on ISL drawings. You'll need a PDF reader.

Enjoy!

While you are here, please go to my poll and check whether you are a hearing, deaf or hard of hearing Kokonut Pundits reader.

Thank you.

A Poll for Kokonut Pundits Readers

Kokonut Pundits readers, please take a moment to do a poll. This poll ought to be a good indicator on seeing exactly what my readership base is like whether they're hearing, deaf or hard of hearing readers. The results may turn out to be quite interesting. We'll see.

Thank you for taking your time in do this poll.

Readers of Kokonut Pundits, what is your hearing status? I am hearing. I am deaf. I am hard of hearing. Free polls from Pollhost.com

Bloggers and Their 3-Piece Pajamas

It has come to full circle now. It wasn't more than 2 years ago when Mr. Klein, executive vice president of CBS, made the audacious claim that bloggers who broke the CBS memo story were nothing but a bunch of guys in jammies with no checks and balances on them.

A watershed media moment occurred Friday on Fox News Channel, when Jonathan Klein, a former executive vice president of CBS News who oversaw "60 Minutes," debated Stephen Hayes, a writer for The Weekly Standard, on the documents CBS used to raise questions about George W. Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service.

Mr. Klein dismissed the bloggers who are raising questions about the authenticity of the memos: "You couldn't have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of check and balances [at '60 Minutes'] and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing."

Yet, failed to note that bloggers are exactly the needed "check and balances" against monopolizing MSM news dinosaurs.

He will regret that snide disparagement of the bloggers, many of whom are skilled lawyers or have backgrounds in military intelligence or typeface design. A growing number of design and document experts say they are certain or almost certain the memos on which CBS relied are forgeries.

But looking back two years earlier in 2002 Reuters did a story about how bloggers are likely to resort to "barroom brawl" bloggings and that they must somehow be held accountable to their writings.

Perhaps most importantly, blogs require accountability of opinions, with each pundit putting his or her name behind every comment.

Hello? Accountability, Reuters? Remember this one? It was only a few months ago. I guess Reuters do need those "check and balances" out there.

But in a ironic turn of event the Reuters news agency is now recruiting bloggers via through Blogburst.

It is not surprising to see that more bloggers are getting paid to write nowadays seeing them as valuable sources of news and opinions, even if they're in their jammies at home typing away on their laptop. And good timing, too, since bloggers won't be held liable for defamation in California for linking to a story that does the actual defaming but then again the judge's ruling, in a way, says that bloggers aren't journalists.

Perhaps, things are turning around for well-to-do bloggers, even if one is deaf or hard of hearing, who like nothing better than to be a part of a bigger story because they, too, have valuable insight and perspective to offer. A least some of them are now getting paid to do their own blogging.


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One of Bush Girls Gets Robbed...Liberals in Utter Delight

Yes. Unreal. In more ways than one.

Just so happens that one of the Bush girls got robbed today in Argentina. Barbara Bush is fine and it was just her purse and cell phone that were stolen. But do read all the comments in the blog article by those going a bit wee unhinged in a celebratory moment. Sort of like the "You had it coming" retorts that make no sense all just because they're related to their father who is the president of the United States.

Unreal.

Sad, too.

Akbar Sentenced To Death

An Army sargent affirmed the sentencing of Sgt. Akbar to be executed. He would be the first one to be executed since 1996

The commander of Fort Bragg on Friday affirmed the sentence of an Army sergeant condemned to die for killing two officers and wounding 14 others during a 2003 grenade and rifle attack in Kuwait.

Sgt. Hasan Akbar was convicted April 21, 2005, of killing Army Capt. Chris Seifert and Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone and wounding 14 others during a March 23, 2003, attack on officers’ tents at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait.

Seifert, 27, and Stone, 40, were part of the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, which was preparing to move into Iraq to join the war. Akbar was sentenced to die April 28, 2005.

With the sentencing comes with the automatic appeal as explained in the Army Times. Though Akbar's lawyer say he was insane at the time.

Oh, really? Now, I am betting that Keith Ellison, the first Muslim in U.S. Congress, will somehow get involved in this. But Beck may have put a damper over Keith Ellison when he asked him in a television interview "Prove to me that you are not working with our enemies".

ELLISON: Let me tell you, the people in the Fifth Congressional District know that I have a deep love and affection for my country. There's no one who's more patriotic than I am, and so you know, I don't need to -- need to prove my patriotic stripes.

BECK: OK. Your view of Muslim extremists.

ELLISON: They're criminals. But I think that people who commit criminal acts should be treated like criminals, regardless of their faith.

We'll see. He still has connection to CAIR. He is against capital punishment.

The death penalty is reserved for certain people, and that is why it is hard to tinker with this instrumentality of death. Unless we have the perfect racial and economic capital punishment system, there are always going to be vulnerable people. Thus, we should not be killing people.

Reserved for certain people? And what would that be? Infidels?

Major Gregory Stone was my cousin.


UPDATE: Welcome Michelle Malkin readers. Thank you for stopping by. Check out all my previous blogs on Major Gregory Stone.



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The Rape of Gallaudet University

Interesting to see (and I welcome this) that a blog story came up called "Rape at Gallaudet" seen in Bibliomarket. But there is also an irony to this when I noticed the differences of how people reacted to my 3-part blog series on rape at Gallaudet in April 2006 before the May protest and after.

About Deafness covered my blogs with links to my 3-part series. The irony now comes to light when one reads the comments in About Deafness claiming that I was out to attack Gallaudet University because of my 3-part blog series on rape which included Gallaudet University. How does addressing rape problems on campus be seen as attacking Gallaudet as a whole? That has never been the case only because I showed concern about the rape problems that have gone on for many years. It's about focusing on why problems existed (or continues to exist).

The reason I decided to the 3-part blog series on the rape problem is because I know people who have been raped at Gallaudet University. In the past there were many institutionalized problems that existed within Gallaudet University and not just at the Administrative level. This included the SRA, CRE, and even some PAs when cracks showed that allowed the problem to persist. Is this still true today? That would warrant further investigation since there are less students on campus nowadays and yet we see the number of officially reported rapes in 2003-2004, for example, at it’s highest on record to be 7 times higher than reported in 1991-1992. Even in 2005 the number of rapes has even worsened from 2003-2004 reported figures where crimes committed must be reported which is required by Federal Law.

My whole theme has always been about how rapes have continued to worsen in some years and not improve in others? Apparently the 2005 year seems to be the worse year yet on reported rapes. Why is that? Is it because more students are becoming braver in stepping forward to report the rapes which is sometimes seen as a silent crime? Or is it because students are becoming more brash in committing these rapes?

How ironic of the charges that were leveled against me back in April prior to the protest in May and then seeing afterwards of how people have attacked relentlessly against Gallaudet University's administration, the people and such during the protest. How ironic on seeing people be overly-protective of Gallaudet prior to the protest and afterwards see them trash Gallaudet like it belonged to a landfill.

Read my 3-part blog series that I wrote back in April 2006. This is worth revisiting once again.

Deaf Residential Schools and Other Dirty Little Secrets - Part I of III.

Deaf Residential Schools and Other Dirty Little Secrets - Part II of III.

Deaf Residential Schools and Other Dirty Little Secrets - Part III of III.

Stickman vs AIMy

Watch this cool animation of a Stickman virus gone crazy. Be sure to turn up the volume to hear the great sound effects. Or at least be able to feel it. And watch a few cool "Matrix-style" moves. Hilarious!

How Much Is Your Deaf/HH Blog $$Worth$$?

Came across this blogsite about a guy who put together a little program based off of Tristan Louis's research to help determine the monetary "value" of blogs, and I used his little program to see what each deaf or hh blog is "worth."

Many in the blogosphere say that traffic is not a good measure of what blogs are but that conversation, as represented by links and indexes like Technorati, represent a more accurate view of the value of a blog.

Just like I did a few weeks ago on how readable are deaf/hh blogs, this time I produced a list of deaf and hard of hearing blogs based on value by submitting the URL address (ie internet address) at this link location to determine a blog's "value."

How much is your Deaf/HH blog or website worth? Value is listed from the highest to the lowest.


Kokonut Pundits - $160,329.36 (anybody want to buy mine?).

Jason's Ruminations - $41,211.42.

DeafDC - $36,695.10.

Bionic Ear Blog - $24,275.22.

Deaf in the City - $20,887.98.

Ridor Live - $14,113.50.

Kalalau's Korner - $10,726.26.

A Deaf Mom Shares Her World - $10,161.72.

Quiescent Voices - $9,597.18.

Bibliomarket - $7,339.02.

Mr. Sandman's Sandbox - $6764.48

ASL Community Journal Blog - $6,209.94.

Grant Laird Jr - $4,516.32.

It's My Life..Don't You Forget - $3,951.78.

Gnarleydorkete - $2,258.16.

DeafBiz - $1,693.62.

Deaf Firefighter's Blog - $1,693.62.

DHH - CommUNITY - $1,693.62.

sComm Blog - $1,693.62.

Semi-Cathartic Skribblings - $564.54.

Drolz Uncensored - $0.00.

Deafscribe - $0.00.

Sonny James - $0.00.

Tactile Junkie - $0.00

Berke Outspoken - $0.00.

Buck Naked Bison - $0.00

Deaf Attorneys - $0.00 (ha ha...too funny!)

Testing the Truth - $0.00.



Try it.


UPDATE: Corrected DeafDC.com "value" from $0.00 to $36,695.10. Glad to see it was an error on my part. It was bound to happen when you have so many blogs to check on.

My blog is worth $160,329.36.
How much is your blog worth?

FSSA Removes LaToya/Delia Memo Without Explaination

I was informed recently the that FSSA removed the LaToya/Delia memo from their website and the link no longer works.

And if the FSSA think that by removing the website memo a la’ administration-style deletion is going to work without offering an explanation, they need to think again. It is certainly NOT gone and the evidence still exist of that missing memo.

I think the FSSA owe the community an explanation because putting that LaToya/Delia memo letter constituted as an implied but official endorsement and support for the authors and the content of that memo by the FSSA organization as a whole.

So, by removing that memo, does that mean the FSSA "officially" supports and recognizes the CoSC? And agrees with the BoT's selection of CoSC? Does it mean also that the FSSA does not acknowledge nor support LaToya and Delia's claim about the CoSC? The FSSA has not yet answered any of my questions. The same goes with many others who asking questions about the memo. And with the memo yanked without giving any reasons why will raise even more questions.

At least it took the FSSA only 2 days this time to remove the memo as a "response" to many people questionings the memo. Again, the FSSA has not made the effort to provide any explanations, where they stand on certain issues at Gallaudet University, which body of organizations or groups they acknowledge and recognize, and so on.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Neisha Washington who is now recognized by the Board of Trustees to be the official representative for the Coalition of Students of Color. The Board of Trustees made the official announcement today on recognizing the people and organizations who will serve on the IPSAC committee.

Time to move forward.

Questions About The LaToya/Delia MEMO

I’ve several questions about the recent “open letter” memo by LaToya and Delia because I keep seeing this “we” stuff peppered throughout the memo as if it’s coming directly from the FSSA itself. Or is it?

Here are my questions.

Is the FSSA endorsing this memo letter written by LaToya and Delia? If not, where is the FSSA disclaimer on their website? If the FSSA does indeed support this memo, where is the affirmation on their website? Is it fair to keep people in the dark on who support who here? Who is the gatekeeper at the GUFSSA's website? Or did this memo get on the GUFSSA's website without people's knowledge?

If LaToya and Delia are acting as representatives of FSSA, does that mean the FSSA is an official organization? Or are they representing an “unofficial establishment” (LaToya/Delia's word) instead?

Who are the official leaders in the FSSA? The website does not make it clear on that either. Or does it really matter since it is an “unofficial establishment”?

Are LaToya and Delia acting as official representatives of the FSSA? Are they the mouthpiece of the FSSA? Or are they doing it for themselves as independents to gain the spotlight and attention? Their memo makes it unclear on who they are representing. The memo is after all on the GUFSSA’s website. Even the FSSA had the CoSC's memo up on their website in early May. Does that mean the FSSA officially recognized the CoSC as an organization?

Will we have to wait 3 days until we hear a response from the FSSA regarding the LaToya/Delia memo for further clarification on their stance on BoT’s official recognizance of CoSC? Or has the FSSA in fact chose LaToya and Delia to be their representative leaders? Or are they instead official leaders of this “unofficial establishment” who are now running the show? Who is what here within the FSSA's "unofficial establishment"?

Are the FSSA against the formation of CoSC? If so, why? Or is that answered by the FSSA's leaders, LaToya and Delia in their open letter memo? Or is that answered by the FSSA's when they allowed the CoSC memo on their website?

Again, we will have to wait 3 days until we hear an "official" response from the FSSA body like they did regarding the SBG crashing the HMB much to the FSSA’s disapproval? Who wrote that letter? Leaders or representatives?

How does the SBG feel about the CoSC? How does the SBG feel about the LaToya/Delia memo? Didn't Noah Beckman showed contriteness about ignoring students of color in the beginning of the protest as he explained it so well in the Newsweek article? Is Noah Beckman, president of the SBG, actually supportive of the COSC being formed?

Who is really creating divisiness here? And who is really supporting who or what here? And what exactly are LaToya and Delia trying to accomplish here? What is the FSSA trying to accomplish here? What are we as a whole trying to accomplish here? Are we here to draw lines in the sand or are we here to agree to disagree, and move forward?

UPDATE: Shane has questions, too, about the memo. He just blogged it a few minutes ago with the title "FSSA Oppresses Students of Color?"


====================
The "Memo" below:


MEMORANDUM

TO: GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SUBJECT: OPEN LETTER OF CONCERN ON THE RECOGNITION OF COALITION OF STUDENTS OF COLOR
DATE: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2006


To the Honorable Members of the Board of Trustees;

On Saturday, November 11, the Faculty, students, staff, alumni, and parents met with some members of the Board in regards to the Interim Presidential Search. These meetings were the first step towards recognizing the importance of community input. This ensures that representatives from different groups of the community are included in the Interim President Search Advisory Committee and breeds optimism that shared governance will soon be a model used within the Gallaudet community.

There is, however, an issue of concern we must present before this coming deadline in submitting names for the IPSAC. These past six months, we, the people of color, have fought to get our voices heard. The unofficial establishment of Faculty, Students, Staff and Alumni has brought forth a place of recognition and respect of and for others outside of minority groups. This unofficial organization has provided a safe haven where, through mistakes, we have learned that teamwork is the essential ingredient for the successful implementation of the principles of social justice at Gallaudet. Working together with the same group of people who initially ignored us and finding that people do learn from their mistakes has instilled in our hearts, the hope of a better Gallaudet.

Gallaudet University will improve from this point on through continued open dialogue and giving ourselves permission to confront each other on issues that must be resolved. Most importantly, and perhaps our biggest challenge: we must push ourselves to engage in such dialogue and confrontation with various groups outside of our own communities and strive to work together as one community. Given that, we are worried that the establishment of the Coalition of Students of Color will only create division within the community of people of color.

As students, working with other groups of faculty, staff, alumni, and community agencies, we have been and continue to fight for social justice. We envision a place where each of our “voices” carry equal power. And as students, we recognize the Student Body Government as our representative organization. However, rather than working with the Student Body Government, certain individuals want to create a separate governing body. This is the same group of people that fail to recognize that a coalition means the inclusion of all minority organizations. This is also a group of people who are pushing for the formation of a coalition without first resolving inter-group conflicts. They are the same group of people who, in part because they harbor anger at those who ignored us students of color at the very beginning of the presidential search process, are not willing to work with the Student Body Government or the Faculty, Student, Staff, and Alumni coalition.

We want you to be aware that—as can be expected in times of crisis, certain issues are still unresolved. One such instance is the formation of the Coalition of the Students of Color. We have not reached a collective understanding, and we ask that out of respect, the trustees halt on the recognition of the Coalition of Students of Color until we have the opportunity to resolve some of the issues that are preventing us from working together in a way that would do social justice proud.

Respectfully yours,


La Toya Plummer
Delia Lozano-Martinez

COSC in, FSSA out.

Received this in my email box. The Coalition of Students of Color has been technically recognized by the Board of Trustees on selecting the ad hoc group to be a part of the Interim President Selection Advisory Committee (IPSAC). One student from the COSC shall be a part of this selection advisory committee. But no one from the ad hoc FSSA group (by name) was selected or the fact that Board of Trustees mentioned the group by name. Will the FSSA protest over this? Although it is to note that the FSSA has never "officially" recognized the COSC. At first FSSA did just to bring in the COSC but then later David King and Arlyn resigned from the ad hoc FSSA group:

Representative of APA Aryln P. resigned from FSSA for the same reason Representative of BDSU David King resigned — they saw the FSSA in its true light. The light wasn’t pretty.

Indeed. Will the FSSA -->protest<-- for their lack of representation (by name) on the IPSAC? Or will they accuse the Board of Trustees of something else like "being out touch" again? Though 2 alumni, 4 students (SBG, GSA, COSC, ISA) and 4 staff and 2 faculty were choosen, why should one or two representatives be chosen from the ad hoc FSSA group by name (Faculty, Student, Staff, and Alumni)? Will FSSA finally and "officially" recognize the CoSC? Is it CoSC in, FSSA out?

UPDATE: To lessen the confusion on what I'm getting at, there has been talk asking that the FSSA be officially recognized as an organization which was brought up at the Gallaudet University's Open Forum #1 on November 9th with one issue discussed "Suggestion made that FSSA become an official group under campus activities". This suggestion was also brought up earlier on October 30 suggesting that the FSSA should, as an ad hoc organization, be officially recognized at Gallaudet University. Which is fine. I've no problem with that whether they need it or not.

Now, the question is this. Since the BoT officially recognized CoSC as a group with one representative to be on the IPSAC board, does this mean that the FSSA also recognizes the CoSC as a distinct and official student governmental organization ? Or does the CoSC, or anybody else for that matter, need recognizance from the FSSA in order to be officially "recognized" by a wider body? And what does "to be officially recognized" mean anyway? What does it take to become "officially recognize"?

No one group can represent everybody because there are different ideals and experiences that make a group "unique". That alone should be "official" enough for everybody to recognize each other. I hope that everybody does indeed work together and learn to agree to disagree when necessary.


Now, the letter from the Board of Trustees on the completion of IPSAC.

================

November 13, 2006

MEMORANDUM

TO: The Gallaudet Community

FR: Pamela Holmes, Chair, Gallaudet University Board of Trustees

RE: Selecting an Interim President

The Gallaudet University Board of Trustees has begun the process of identifying an interim president to begin service on January 1, 2007. Following a full day of meetings with key constituency groups, including students, faculty, alumni, and staff, the Board met in executive session to establish the process set forth in this memorandum.

The Board expects to appoint an interim president with the following characteristics:

Possession of a terminal degree
Higher education knowledge, experience and credentials
Shared vision: An inclusive, academically excellent university
Proven leadership ability
Knowledge of fundraising and congressional relations
Ability to lead efforts to enhance respect for diversity
Ability to bridge different constituencies
Budget/fiscal management experience
Fluency in American Sign Language and knowledge of deaf culture
Highest standards of integrity and ethics
Support for K-12 education and LCC national mission efforts

Simultaneously with issuance of this memorandum, the Board has issued a call for nominations and indications of Interest. The call is posted on the Gallaudet University website and individuals, who wish to make nominations, including self-nominations, may do so by sending an email to pam.holmes@captelmail.com.

The Board expects the interim president will serve on an interim basis only, for a period of eighteen months. The Board and the interim president, by mutual agreement, may extend this period for an additional six months if needed.

The Board hereby creates an Interim President Selection Advisory Committee (IPSAC) and asks that it provide assistance by considering a diverse range of candidates to serve as interim president and make recommendations consistent with the below.

IPSAC will recommend three to five candidates to the Board of Trustees, which will then fulfill its responsibility as the governing body for the University by selecting one of those individuals as interim president. The Board reserves the right to request additional candidates from IPSAC. IPSAC will have the responsibility of preparing a brief written report about each of the recommended candidates, discussing strengths and weaknesses; it shall not provide any ranking of the recommended candidates.

IPSAC shall consist of the following members:

1 student, SBG

1 student, GSA

1 student, International Students Association

1 student, Coalition of Students of Color

2 faculty

2 University staff

1 Clerc Center teacher

1 Clerc Center staff

2 alumni

2 administrators

1 member of the Board of Trustees

The members of IPSAC will be selected by the constituency groups they represent. The respective constituency groups are expected to confirm that their representatives are available to serve. The Chair of the Board of Trustees, Ms. Pamela Holmes, will select the Chair of IPSAC, in consultation with the Executive Committee of the Board. She or her designee also will serve on the IPSAC in an ex officio capacity. A quorum of eight shall be required for IPSAC decisions. An individual will be hired to provide full-time staff support to IPSAC.

In its work, IPSAC may develop additional procedures consistent with this memorandum. It should confirm that each recommended candidate is available to begin service on January 1, 2007. It may but need not conduct video or in person interviews of the individuals it considers.

The schedule for the selection of the interim president, which is very aggressive and will be adhered to rigorously, is as follows:

November 13: issuance of this memorandum

November 15, 5 p.m.: constituency groups to submit names, titles, and contact information of their selected IPSAC members
November 16, 5 p.m.: Board Chair Ms. Holmes to select Chair of IPSAC
November 17: expected first meeting of IPSAC
December 1: IPSAC to notify individuals on its recommended list of their selection
December 6, 5 p.m.: IPSAC to send brief written reports to Board Chair Ms. Holmes
December 9: Board meeting to interview recommended candidates
December 11: Board decision to be announced
January 1, 2007: interim president to begin service

IPSAC shall conduct its work in accordance with a confidentiality agreement that will be distributed at the first meeting.

The Board expects to announce a separate search process for the permanent president, after an interim president has been selected.

Thank you.

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